On Tuesday September 30, 2014, on the occasion of Saint Jerome’s Day, intercessor of translators, the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) celebrated International Translation Day. The Faculty of Letters, in cooperation with the Arab Translators Federation, organized a conference entitled: “Translation and the Production of Knowledge”, in the presence of Rev. Fr. Hady Mahfouz, USEK President, Rev. Fr. Karam Rizk, University Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Mr. Atilio De Gaspires, Cultural Attaché at the Italian Embassy, along with a group of teachers and students.

Following the Lebanese National Anthem, Ms. Christine Azzi, from the Department of Translation, stressed the issue of gathering knowledge and translation as an important human endeavor.

Then, Rev. Fr. Karam Rizk, University Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Letters, took the floor and pointed out that this event has become an annual tradition in the Faculty. He then talked about the role of Syriac translators who contributed in knowledge production by transferring the Greek philosophy to the Arab civilization through their language. Fr. Rizk finally indicated that the Faculty of Letters will always support undertaking and disseminating research.

Two sessions followed; the first was facilitated by Dr. Mireille Issa, Director of the Center for Latin Studies at USEK and was entitled: “Translation of the Levantine Heritage to Western Languages: the Role of Translators in Generating Knowledge”. The second session, facilitated by Prof. Tanios Njeim, tackled the subject of “Translation and the Production of Knowledge in Light of Adopted Curricula”.